End stop for slide fasteners and method of applying same



May 5, 1959 L. RATH ETAL END STOP FOR SLIDE FASTENERS AND METHOD OF APPLYING SAME Filed March 9'. 1954 INVENTORS Z, fi/W/ BY 641 100 /r' L M/G nited States Patent f END sro'r FOR SLIDE FASTENERS METHOD OF APPLYING SAME Richard L. Ram and Gaylord F. Emig, Meadville, 1a.,

assignors to Talon, Inc., a corporation of Penny va This invention relates to slide fasteners, and more partic'ularly, to an improved end stop therefor and method of applying the same to stringers of theslide fastener.

He'retofor, it has been suggested to employ preformed end stops for slide fasteners with tape engaging flanges or jaws which are normally spaced apart to facilitate free mounting on edges of opposed stringer --'tapes and moved into firm engagement therewith upon compression of the body of the end stop. While such end stops are practical and securely hold the stringers together, they are difficult. to insert between the stringer tapes and clamp thereto mainly for the reason that the distance between the, opposed edges of the stringer tapes is relatively small thereby making it diflieult to position accurately'the end ste therebetween and on the edge of the tapes, especially in the case of continuous chain.

Also, inthe use of such end stops, it IS necessary to prtwide a relatively large gap" space between. the fastener elements ofthe' chain at the end of each fastener so as to provide sufficient space to facilitate the insertion and positioning of the end stops therebetween and to clamp them to the edges of the stringers. This results in a waste of tape which adds materially to the cost of manufacture of the fasteners. As a result of the present invention, it is necessary to provide only a minimum length gap space thereby resulting in substantial savings in tape costs.

Accordingly, it is one of the objects of the present invention to provide an improved end stop for slide fasteners which can be easily and conveniently applied to slide fastener chain wherein the gap space thereof is reduced to a minimum.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved method of applying a pre-formed end stop to slide fastener stringers which is simple and inexpensive and, at the same time, provides an end stop which is strong and rugged in its construction so as to hold securely the fastener stringers together.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved end stop which can be easily fabricated and positioned in the gap space between the opposed edges of the stringer tapes and clamped thereto without the need of any expensive tools or other special equipment.

Various other objects and advantages of this'invention will be more apparent in the course of the following specification, and will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, there is shown for the purpose of illustration, an embodiment which our inven tion may assume in practice.

In these drawings:

Fig. l is a fragmentary plan view of a piece of slide fastener chain having the improved end stop of our invention incorporated therewith,

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the various steps in forming the end stop of our invention,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4--4 of Fig. 2,

2,884,691 Patented May 5, .1959

Fig. 5 is an end view of an improved end stop-after it is cut from the end of preformed rolled stock and before it is completely formed,

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6- -6 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 7 is an elevation view showing the step of attaching the end stop to the fastener stringers,

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 1 and,

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the end stop of the present invention after it has been formed and before it is attached to the stringers.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the improved end stop of the present invention is preferably formed by rolling round metallic stock 2 to the-desired cross sectional shape, as shown in Figures 2 and S'of the drawings, with such rolled stock having a finished substantially X-shaped cross sectional form,- as shown in Fig. 4-.

The desired length of material for an endstop is then cut from the end of the X-shaped rolled stock preferably by means of cooperating rotatable cutting tools 3 and 4 so as to provide a unitary body member 5 having a central solid portion 6 curved or channeled as at 7 on one side thereof and two pairs of opposed outwardly diverging wall portions 8, 9, 10, and 12 which form between the walls of the respective pairs at opposite sides of the central portion, channels 13 and 14- respectively, substantially U-shaped in cross section.

The wall portions 8 and 10, i.e., one of each pair, are then bent toward one another, adjacent the curved or channeled portion 7 positionedtherebetween preferably by means of such opposed side tools 24 and 25 untilthey are substantially parallel to one anotheiyas shown in Figures 6 and 9 whereby the body member 5 is now formed so as to be substantially T-shaped in cross section, as shown in Figures 7 and 9. This completes the forming of the end stop member and it is now in readiness to be applied to the fastener stringers in the following manner.

The bent wall portions 8 and 10 of the end stop are inserted in the gap space 15 between the opposed beaded edges 16 and 17 of the respective stringer tapes 18 and 19 of the slide fastener or chain at a point immediately below the endmost fastener element 20 thereof so as to be positioned thereagainst, as shown in Figures 1 and 7 of the drawings. In such position it will be seen that the inner sides of the wall portions 9 and 12 of the end stop will lie directly next to the beaded edges 16 and 17 on one side of the fastener with the bent wall portion 8 and 10 extending through the space 15 to the opposite side thereof.

The end stop is now in position to be clamped to the edges of the stringer tapes. The wall portions 9 and 12 are positioned in a lower die or anvil 21 as shown in Fig. 7. The wall portions 8 and 10 are then bent and moved outwardly preferably by means of a punch 22 forced therebetween so as to be moved securely into engagement with the beaded edges 16 and 17 of the stringer tapes on the opposite side thereof from the wall portions 9 and 12. That is to say, these respective wall portions 8,

9, 10, and 12 are moved toward one another around the beaded edges 16 and 17 of the stringer tapes with these wall portions acting as clamping jaws to securely attach the end stop to the edges of the stringers so as to join them securely together, as shown in Figures 1 and 8 0f the drawings.

As a result of our invention, it will be seen that after the interlocking fastener elements of the respective stringers are interengaged with one another, as shown in Fig. 1, the end stop of our invention can be easily inserted and positioned between the beaded edges of the stringers without regard to the length of the space therebelow. That is to say, the gap space between the fasteners need be only slightly greater than the size of the end stop if so desired so as to be-reduced to a minimum.

Also, because of the simplified construction of our improved end stop, the attachment thereof to the edges of the stringers is facilitated and can be accomplished with theme of simple tools and equipment.

While we have shown and described an embodiment which our invention may assume in practice, it willbe understoodv that this embodiment is merely for the pur pose of illustration anddescription, and that other forms may be devised within-the scope of our invention as defined in the appended claims. What'we claim as ourinvention is:

2. The method of formin astop member for theend of a slide fastener which comprises providing a continuous 1.- The method of forming a stop member-for the end 5 central portion and two pairs of opposed outwardly diverging wall portions which form at opposite sides of the central portion channels substantially U-shaped in cross section, bending two of the wall portions, one of each pair, toward one another so that they are substantially parallel to one another whereby the body member is substantially T-shaped in cross section,inserting said bent pair of wall portions between the opposed edges of the stringers of said fasteners so that they extend to the opposite side thereof and so that the unbent pair of wall portions lie directly next to the edges of the opposed stringers on one side thereof, and bending each of said bent pair of wall portions outwardly away from one another into engagement with the edges of the opposed stringers on the opposite side thereof whereby said wall portions act as'pairs'of clamping jaws to attach said body member securely to the edges of said stringers so as to join them together, I

length of stock substantially X-shaped in cross section, cutting a length of material'from the end of said stock so as to provide a unitary body member having a solid central portion and two pairs of opposed outwardly diverging wall portions which form at opposite sides of the central portion channelssubstantially U-shaped in cross section, bending two of the wall portions, one of each pair, toward one another so that they are substantially parallel to one another. whereby a unitary body member is formed substantially T-shaped in cross section, inserting said bent pair of wall portions between the opposed edges of the stringers of said fasteners so that they extend to the opposite side thereof and so that the unbent pair of wall portions lie directly next to the edges of the opposed stringers on one side thereof, and bending each of said bent pair of wall portions outwardly away from one another into engagement with edges of the opposed stringers on the opposite side thereof whereby said wall portions act as pairs of clamping jaws to attach said body member securely to the edges of said stringers so as to join them together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,549,051 Brown Apr. 17, 1951 

